Lovitz gives up too much space on his side defensively. Part of the reason, he doesn’t get beat is that he retreats back inside the box. But that just opens up tons of space for the opposition to overload that side to use as a point to crack open our defense. Lacking aggression isn’t always a good thing either.
Antonee Robinson to AC Milan is the most out of left field USMNT rumor of the window. It is so nuts, that one wonders if it isn't true. I mean, who would make up that rumor? If Robinson moves to AC Milan and somehow gets into the 11, that would become very Sergino Dest very quickly. We have never cap tied him (thanks to Gregg's fascination with Lovitz) so he is free to switch to England. We don't even have a chance to cap tie him until June.
Would be funny if he were to move to AC Milan then choose England. Couldn't blame him, either. Doubt the transfer rumor is true, but it's nice to see his performances garnering attention.
the chances of ARobinson winning a starter role at AC Milan is similar to Yeuill becoming a regista under Pep. Not holding my breath. @IndividualEleven - no word on the street from you?
For the record Robinson is a guy that Milan is looking at as a young backup to Theo Rodriguez. He would play sparingly
I don't think that is the correct analogy. Robinson has been sold once for 7 figures already. There is potential there that is projectable to teams. Man City and AC Milan are not in the same position currently, with the latter in financial trouble and mid-table in a league with less money. Also, LB, worldwide is a lower bar to hurdle than Registra. In other words, easier to break in as a LB in a mid-table Italian team than the fulcrum midfielder in a Champions League contender from England. Having said that, even if the rumor is true, such big steps up and into new leagues hard very difficult. I'd rather see Robinson go to a team like Bremen or Southhampton.
The reason Egg uses Cannon is that he feels "safe" with Cannon's defense. If a mid looks around and there's no fb to pass to it's on the mid in Egg's mind. It is said of some that they make everybody around them better. You rarely hear the phrase "he makes everybody around him worse."
I feel safer with Cannon's defense than Dest or Yedlin. Dest makes up for by being an offensive force. Yedlin kind of does by having blazing speed. I wish the US had at least three good candidates at every spot since so many players are always injured.
It get me wrong cause I like Cannon and think he has potential but Egg plays him because he’s in the MLS. If Cannon was in the championship and AR in the MLS I suspect Cannon wouldn’t be called and AR would be.
I think Dest is an excellent defender on the right side. He doesn't seem so on the left side. Which is why it is strange that so many have him penned in as the LB. It could be that he just doesn't have the practice on the left, mostly playing on the right with Ajax. But being right footed, he should probably be on the right. Yedlin is generally a very good 1 v 1 defender and rarely lets a cross get off. He has held his own against very good competition at the club and USMNT level. I don't think he 100% concentrates in Friendlies; but few of the veterans do anymore. Cannon is hard to really evaluate on the USMNT because he either played for Sarachan, which few fullbacks looked good for, or played this year's cake schedule. Against Mexico, he played well but Mexico mostly attacked Ream or Dest on the left. I don't think that was respect for Cannon so much as an easier target. Cannon played at another level in MLS in the Fall. Hopefully that form continues, he plays out his contract, and moves up a level.
back to the topic at hand: Matt Doyle from 1/7: "The most likely to go this winter, according to reports and basic logic is USMNT RB Reggie Cannon. Paxton Pomykal got a TAM deal, and Jesus Ferreira got a TAM deal and Cannon, who's more accomplished than either... hasn't. And won't. I'm 99.9% convinced he's going."
Here's an older report that Southampton continues to look at Long for GBP6m. https://saintsmarching.com/2019/11/17/southampton-saints-offered-chance-sign-american/
Of course he’s been made available. RB didn’t sell him when they had an offer cause they wanted more and now the offers dried up. He’s likely pissed cause that was his chance. They should have sold him when they could.
there should always be a market clearing price and if he isn’t worth as much now as then, he’s probably not been able to handle a higher level of play.
Long is in an intriguing situation. He boosted his salary from 73K to 800K (the 9th best paid American in MLS in 2019) when he signed a new contract with New York less than 12 months ago. At the same time, he's clearly been indicating that he wants to leave in the last 6 months. The deal isn't really onerous, considering the fact that it expires at the end of the 2021 season, but New York can be patient for now. If somebody wants Long, then they'll make an amenable offer.
I don’t think the offers dried up but rather they may have come in at a lower value than NYRB. plus, why would his value drop? I’d it’s because his play isn’t perceived as good as last year, he may be better off at home than failing to break into a major league club.
I see... I think the offers were always lower than what RB wanted. The only reported one backs that. It’s not that his value dropped. It’s the age old issue, his value to RB is more than it is anywhere else in the world. He may be better off in MLS than failing to break in but he/we will never know for sure now. Sometimes you have to take a gamble on yourself. He wanted to go and likely never will now cause his age.
So, approximately one week remaining in the transfer window, and as far as I can tell, Antonee Robinson is the only player with more than a single USMNT cap who has been the subject of any serious European transfer speculation in the press this off-season. Pretty disappointing so far.
I’m hopeful that a couple MLS guys move as it’s the off-season for them. If not, that’s pretty damning of what the best teams in the world think about our domestic players. I’ll add that it’s certainly not because of euro passport issues as the top three mentioned names shouldn’t have problem going anywhere given USMNT caps and Czech heritage for Paxton. it would be painful to see excellency write I told you so wrt Cannon in particular.